Riley stepped out of the bar, the chill of the Madrid night wrapping around him like a cloak. The air was thick with the scent of damp asphalt and distant street food, but he hardly noticed. His mind was elsewhere, tracing the edges of his plan and the impending trial—a cage he had built for himself. He kept his gaze low, his features set in a mask of indifference.
As he wandered through the dimly lit streets, the distant sounds of laughter and clinking glasses faded into a dull roar. The city felt like a vast ocean, and he was merely a drop, insignificant and lost. Each passerby was a blur, their lives intertwined in ways he couldn't fathom or care to explore. He moved like a shadow, unseen and unbothered, until he caught sight of the alley.
